The Masing Memorial Prize honors scientific work published in the two years prior to the award ceremony. The nominees' dissertations must not be more than 10 years old. The 2025 Masing Memorial Prize goes to Dr.-Ing. Oliver Renk, Montanuniversität Leoben.

1) Anyone who talks to you quickly notices your enthusiasm for questions related to metal physics and how much you know about the subject, which extends far beyond the last few decades. What sparked your interest in materials physics originally, and what keeps it alive to this day?

From a very early age, I was fascinated by how material defects and their interactions can change material properties. I was fortunate to learn and conduct research for a long time with one of the best in the field. Countless discussions with Reinhard Pippan — his fascination, motivational leadership, and interest in trying out crazy ideas — were instructive and reinforced my fascination. Even now, when students conduct exciting experiments, I try to rearrange my schedule so I can be there.

2) You are familiar with both current literature and works from the early years of materials physics. How important is this historical knowledge for your research, and how might it influence current developments? 

I find early work in a specialized field just as exciting to read as current research. On the one hand, this is because problems have not been fully solved in several decades, yet many attempts have already been made. For instance, the embrittlement of metals has been recognized for over 100 years but remains poorly understood. Reading these works can save you from conducting lengthy series of experiments. At the same time, you can find different approaches and considerations that can be used as discussion points for current research or for evaluating your own interpretation of the problem. I am personally impressed by the ingenuity of the experiments in many old works. Despite limited resources, it was possible to come very close to solving a problem with simple considerations. I think there is still much to learn from this approach.

3) You are known for only publishing research results after checking them several times and carefully considering all possible explanations. How has this approach affected your work and its perception by the professional community?

I can't judge the community's perception. Personally, I believe it's good scientific practice to avoid interpreting and publishing the first measurement you get. You often go into an experiment with certain expectations, and ideally, those expectations are met. But have you taken all the influencing factors into account? That's why we often test this in a series of follow-up experiments based on a "thought model." If you believe you have understood a material problem or phenomenon based on your work, why not test this hypothesis in a follow-up experiment? If successful, this not only fulfills your expectations, but also reinforces your thesis and prevents missteps. It also boosts your confidence because you have checked and validated your own hypotheses several times.

4) You regularly give invited lectures at international conferences. What role does communicating complex content play for you, especially with young scientists, and how do you present specialist knowledge in a memorable way? 

In my teaching and specialist lectures, I present results and contexts as simply as possible, omitting any irrelevant details. What matters to me is the motivation behind the project and the value or impact of the knowledge gained. I hope that, as a result, a lecture can always remain exciting for a wide range of listeners and engage them regardless of their level of knowledge.

Congratulations again to Dr.-Ing. Oliver Renk on this special award! We look forward to honoring him and all the award winners at DGM-Tag 2025, where we can get to know them personally.